UN Experts On Iran And Freedom Of Religion Concerned

UN Experts On Iran And Freedom Of Religion
Concerned Over Situation Of Religious Minorities In The
Country

GENEVA (20 September 2012) – The
United Nations Special Rapporteurs on the situation of human
rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ahmed Shaheed, and
freedom of religion or belief, Heiner Bielefeldt, welcomed
the release of a Christian Pastor charged with apostasy, but
expressed deep concern over the arrest and detention of
hundreds of Christians over the past few years. They called
on the authorities to “ease the current climate of fear in
which many churches operate, especially protestant
evangelical houses of worship.”

The Special Rapporteur
on Iran welcomed the acquittal and subsequent release from
prison earlier this month of Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani, who
spent three years in prison for charges that, in his view,
do not qualify as offences in Iran’s current Penal Code.

“The Iranian judiciary is to be commended for its
decision to release Pastor Nadarkhani,” the human rights
expert said. “However, questions remain as to why he spent
three years in prison apparently for practicing his
religion, a right guaranteed in the Iran’s own
Constitution and in the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights,” which the country ratified in 1975.

Born to Muslim parents, Mr. Nadarkhani converted to
Christianity at the age of 19 and became a member of a
Protestant church in Rasht. He was arrested in October 2009
on charges of apostasy. In September 2010, he was found
guilty and sentenced to death on charges of apostasy and
evangelism, following a trial in which the guarantees of due
process of law had not been properly applied, according to
the Special Rapporteur.

The sentence was upheld by the
Supreme Court, with the caveat that unless the accused
renounced Christianity, he would be executed by hanging. In
early September 2012, Iranian judicial authorities reduced
Pastor Nadarkhani’s charge to ‘evangelizing Muslims,’
and his sentence to three years, which he was credited with
having already served.

Based on his own interviews and
reports from various NGOs, Mr. Shaheed estimates that over
300 Christians have been arbitrarily arrested and detained
throughout the country since June 2010, and that at least 41
individuals were detained for periods ranging from one month
to over a year, sometimes without official charges.

“Scores of other Christians appear to remain in
detention for freely practicing their religion,” the
independent expert said, noting that “churches continue to
report undue pressure to report membership, in what appears
to be an effort to pressure and sometimes even detain
converts, despite articles 13, 14, and 26 of the Iranian
Constitution which protect the rights of Christians and
others.”

For the Special Rapporteur on freedom of
religion, “Iran possesses the basic legal framework to
guarantee Christians, as a group, the right to freedom of
religion, and should ensure that this right is granted in
practice as well.” Mr. Bielefeldt noted that “the right
to conversion in this context is an inseparable part of
freedom of religion or belief as enshrined in the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant
on Civil and Political Rights.”

The Special Rapporteur
on Iran stressed that the arrest and prosecution of
individuals for religious affiliation runs counter to the
protection of minority religions in Iran’s Constitution
and constitutes a violation of Iran’s obligations under
the International Covenant, in particular to respect freedom
of religion and belief and freedom of expression and
association.

“All cases against individuals arrested
and prosecuted on charges related to the enjoyment of the
right to freedom of religion and belief should be given a
thorough and independent review,” they said. “No
individual should be arrested for peacefully exercising the
rights to freedom of religion and belief, expression and
association.”

The Special Rapporteur on freedom of
religion also called for the protection of other religious
minorities such as the Baha’is, Yarsanis, Dervishes and
other religions, faiths or beliefs not recognised by the
Iranian Constitution.

In his reports* to the UN General
Assembly and to the UN Human Rights Council, Mr. Shaheed has
expressed serious concern over alleged human rights
violations against Christians, Baha’is and other religious
minorities in Iran.

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